Bourke Street Mall shops ready to set new benchmark values

It would be at least the second Coles supermarket the retailer has bought this year. In March, Coles paid up to $100 million for a supermarket it has leased for decades in Balaclava.

In both cases, the existing buildings were ageing and ripe for renewal.

Both Coles and Woolworths are renowned for their defensive purchases and occupations of supermarkets in a bid to keep competition at bay.

Stonebridge agents Justin Dowers and Kevin Tong handled the campaign, which yielded nine bids, many from Asian-backed capital. They declined to comment on the buyer.

Coles also had no comment.

Southbank

The Chinese owners of the former Red Cross Blood Bank have put their landmark Southbank site back on the market.

The triple-fronted 1787 sq m land at 51-65 Clarke Street comes with a rare and unrepeatable permit for a 70-level tower with apartments and a hotel.

NewCity Land paid $30.4 million for the site in 2015 and obtained the permit in 2017. It would be easy to assume the permit is about to expire, but they have an extension until 2026.

While governments criticise councils for holding up projects, it’s easy to find cases of developers sitting on permits and not using them.

The timing of the listing follows surging interest in the housing crisis and is expected to attract build-to-rent developers.

The Capital City-zoned site is being marketed by JLL’s Josh Rutman, Jesse Radisich and MingXuan Li. Market sources reckon it’s worth at least $40 million.

Just around the corner, however, is a completed hotel on 18 Moray Street which Savills listed last year for around $70 million. It is still for sale at that price.

The Imperium Hotel, a 38-level fully fitted-out tower, has stood empty since it was finished during the pandemic.

The property was developed by a company owned by Cheng Ting Kong, a gambling junket operator with Triad connections who flew in high-rollers to the nearby Crown Casino. Not a business model with legs right now.

Tulla

TKCorp has booked a 51 per cent uplift in value in just 16 months after selling a Tullamarine warehouse for $14.3 million.

A local owner-occupier bought the 25 Tullamarine Park Road property, which is in the tightly held precinct around Melbourne Airport.

Colliers’ Nick O’Brien and Corey Vraca negotiated the transaction.

O’Brien said the deal reflects the “significant demand from owner occupiers” who want to be in the airport surrounds.

The 6285 sq m building is on a large 14,190 sq m piece of land and sold vacant.

TKCorp had been planning a development on the site but “the wave of appetite from the occupier market prompted a decision to de-risk the project and divest the property,” Krasnostein said.

Telstra

Telstra is offloading a telephone exchange in East Hawthorn it has held for more than 60 years.

It’s one of thousands of exchanges that Telstra has earmarked for closure over the years as Australia’s telecommunications finally moves out of the copper wire era.

The 1345 sq m site at 80 Camberwell Road has rear access from Roseberry Street and is zoned Commercial 1.

Gross Waddell ICR’s Danny Clark, Alex Ham, Andrew Greenaway and Glenn Ye scored the listing. Charter Keck Cramer are acting as transaction advisers.

Telstra is selling it with a three-year lease plus an 18-month option, which gives any developers plenty of time to sort out their permits and funding.

It’s down the road from the REIV head office which went on the market last year.

Queen Vic Market

Activity around the Queen Victoria Market is hotting up following Lendlease’s announcement of a $1.7 billion 1700-unit redevelopment of the southernmost carpark.

A few weeks ago, the Yeonga Korean BBQ restaurant at 1-3 Cobden Street, opposite the northern border of the market, sold for $2.757 million at auction after 81 bids from 11 parties.

It was only the second time the double-storey building had sold since 1880 and the first time since 1950. The sale price reflected a yield of 2.87 per cent.

Stonebridge agents Nic Hage, who handled the auction with Rorey James, said the sub 3 per cent return was a standout in the market.

Next up is 35 Peel Street, an early 1990s-era building on the market’s western flank with ground floor shops and two levels of apartments.

The 1140 sq m building is on a 425 sq m piece of land and is expected to fetch more than $6.5 million.

CBRE agents JJ Heng, Scott Hawthorne, Alex Brierley and Nathan Mufale and handling expressions of interest with Tiga Commercial’s David Sia, Griffin Barret and Martin Leong.

Nearby, CBRE’s Hawthorne, Heng and Jack Pignata are taking the 123-129 Howard Street to auction on October 11.

The Ample Cafe and Bar has occupied the 280 sq m property for more than 10 years but its lease has expired.